Monday, January 21, 2008

Proof of the need for simplicity and slowness to attain JOY!

The average man eats in a hurry and gets dyspepsia. He walks in a
hurry and gets apoplexy. He talks in a hurry and begins to stutter.
He does business in a hurry and becomes bankrupt. He votes in a hurry and
produces corruption. He marries in a hurry and gets a divorce. He
trains his children in a hurry and develops spendthrifts and delinquents.
He makes his will in a hurry and leaves a legal contest. He dies in a
hurry and goes to the devil.


And his tribe steadily increases.

MORAL? Slow down.

-- author unknown (unfortunately!)

as quoted in Warriner's English Grammar and Composition, Harcourt Brace 1977, pg 305-306.

4 comments:

Leonie said...

Very good! Reminds me of a book I am reading and then contemplating - Finding Sanctary: Monastic Seps for Everyday Lfe, by Abbott Jamison, from the Benedictine Abbey in Worth UK. I think you'd like it...

Sara said...

I have a turtle puppet on my desk to remind myself of the famous "Tortoise and Hare" fable...I love this quote you found!

Mary G said...

Leonie -- that sounds like a great book; I've requested it from the library. What do you think of it so far?

Mary G said...

Sara -- I love the idea of the puppet ... that would help with the "joy" theme: to have something silly to remind me to slow down, find joy in every thing in every day ...